


Lost Words

by lea_hazel



Category: Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: 5 Things, Alternate Universe, Emotional Intimacy, F/F, F/M, Kissing, Romance, Spoilers, Trust Issues, Week two spoilers, bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-06 07:31:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17341208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: Short sketches of some A/U romances for my widow, Allegra. Five kisses that never happened.





	Lost Words

**1.**

Allegra kisses Zarad because she doesn't know how to be honest with words and, really, if she had not done it, the two of them would have continued dancing around each other for another four weeks, then parted ways and never seen each other again. And that would have been a tragedy, because Zarad is the only man she has ever met who never wanted her to be anything but herself, but the best possible version of herself. That's what he needs her to be. When she's with him, she never feels like she needs to change to accommodate his perception of her, like part of her is wrong or broken or needs adjustment.

But Allegra is not good with emotions, and she especially is not good with expressing them in words. Whether in person or in a letter, it's always easier for her to say " _I got your favorite_ " or " _take a coat, it's cold outside_ " instead of just... saying the words. She knows she needs to be honest. She knows that if she doesn't speak her mind she will lose, forever, this impossible opportunity that she never thought she would have. But since she can't get her words to cooperate, she lets her actions speak for her.

 

**2.**  

Allegra kisses Hamin because it's easy. In so many ways he's the exact opposite of her. No matter how much he teases her or how many pranks and hijinx he indulges in, when it comes down to it, he's never been anything but honest with her. And she envies him this, the effortless ability to be earnest about his affection. If she tried it herself it would come out sounding affected, fake, or overly aggressive, she's sure of it.

But if Hamin insists on giving away freely something so precious as honestly, then she has to be able to trade him something against that. She racks her brain on what that might be, but every idea she has feels wrong, somehow. Until one day they're standing side by side and he reaches over to take her hand, and suddenly it just feels  _right_. She's not usually an impulsive person, but if she's going to be a pirate princess, she might as well just try. Maybe some things can be easy, after all.

 

**3.**  

Allegra kisses Lyon because if she waited for him to do it himself they would both go gray in the process. He's only three years younger than her but she can see for herself how nervous she makes him, the whole situation does. Instead of letting him fret himself into a knot, she decides that she can draw on her years of experience and make this one thing less difficult for him. So she takes the decision out of his hands.

Unfortunately she's a small woman, it's the only way in which she's ever been remotely maidenly, so this requires some advanced logistical planning. She has to wait and catch him in a moment of vulnerability, when he has successfully folded his absurdly large frame into a chair, and he's finally within her reach. Physically, at least.

 

**4.**  

Allegra kisses Gisette when she knows. Gisette all but confirms it, after all, in their brief meeting in the gazebo, the day after her so-called accident. There's no guilt on her face at all, no regret, but there is sadness, a sadness that makes Allegra furiously mad. So she does the only thing she can think of which would equal it in cruelty: she leans forwards and presses a soft, sweet kiss to the corner of her mouth.

The contact is over almost before it begins. When she draws back, Allegra finds that she's no less angry than she was before, and Gisette doesn't look any more regretful. But mixed in with her fury is another, sharper emotion, one she's much less comfortable with. She walks back to her room and can't help but wonder whether she was punishing Gisette, or herself.

 

**5.**

Allegra kisses Jasper because she dares to. She's never been a daring woman, never had the patience for daredevils and risk-takers. It's an unfamiliar sensation to her, but not an unwanted one. She finds that there's some recklessness in her, after all. She's taking a risk not just with her reputation but with her heart, both treasures that she strove most diligently to protect.

There's no protecting against Jasper. He has tried, just as hard as she has, to do the right and proper thing, the sensible thing, to do what's expected of him. Before she ever knew he had a legacy to live up to, one that might well be more ancient than the Chase family's five hundred years' lineage, some quiet intuition told her that they had more in common than not. And if he can venture to put her ahead of his own conflicting duties, then surely she can be brave enough to set aside her ambitions, at least for a moment or two.


End file.
